Seismic data obtained over the Dive site during the Blake 2000 cruise

Seismic data obtained over the Dive site during the Blake 2000 cruise along seismic line R39. The relatively continuous reflector that mimics the seafloor starting in the east at ~ 5.3 seconds water depth and ending in the west at ~5.1 seconds is the BSR. Note that no BSRs exist where the chimneys are located, implying that free gas has migrated upward into the hydrate stability zone, and perhaps to the seafloor at these sites. The bumpy nature of the seafloor and subsurface sediment disruption below the seafloor is apparent below the dive site. A key goal of this dive is to determine whether gas escape has played a role in creating the bumpy features at the seafloor as well as disrupted the sediment below. Image by W.S. Holbrook.

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